HIGHT REVVED UP FOR RETURN TO THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2016) —- For Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car team this weekend’s DENSO Spark Plug NHRA Nationals could not get here fast enough. On the heels of winning his third Gatornationals Funny Car title in five years and also with back to back final round appearances at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Hight is looking forward to getting back on the track.
“Getting the win in Gainesville was huge for us. We won in Funny Car and then to see Brittany Force get her first Top Fuel win was special. It was the first John Force Racing double up win and now Brittany and I are each in the points lead and locked into the Traxxas Shootout. The biggest focus for our Auto Club team is to stay focused. We knew we were close to breaking through and now we just have to keep the pressure on and continue to be consistent,” said Hight, a 37-time Funny Car winner.
Hight and the Auto Club Camaro team won the November race in the desert and were runner-up at the spring event. The 2009 Funny Car champion has been in the final round four of the last five years at the DENSO Spark Plug Nationals picking up wins in 2012 and 2011. He is the winningest Funny Car driver at the track just north of the famed Las Vegas strip.
“There are some tracks where you just feel comfortable and you have a lot of success. The Strip is one of those tracks for me and this Auto Club team. I basically clinched my championship here in 2009 and last year we got to the final twice. I have three wins at the spring race and two at the fall race. Our Auto Club Funny Car has qualified well here too so I am excited to get back to the track,” said Hight.
A large portion of Hight’s success can be attributed to his work ethic and also his relationship with crew chief Mike Neff. The tandem have spent the better part of the past three seasons building a potent 1-2 punch when it comes to driver crew chief combinations. The skill sets each brings to the relationship overlap and complement one another and that has led to early season success according to crew chief Mike Neff.
“That’s one thing that helps our relationship as far as working together. He understands a lot about the car, the parts and how it all works as well as I do. He understands the driving part, and I’ve also driven,” said Neff, a 10-time Funny Car winner. “That’s probably the biggest thing that has happened to me as a crew chief is getting the opportunity to drive, to experience what it’s like, because it’s so hard to wrap your brain around what it would be like being in that car and the sensation of speed and what goes on. Unless you’ve done it you can’t relate. The feedback from him, too – ‘it did this’ – I can relate to because I probably experienced the same thing in the car. We have a really good working relationship, which shows in the performance on the track.”
BRITTANY FORCE LOOKING FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS IN LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2016) — It took 75 races but Brittany Force has a Top Fuel win and now the fourth year pro is looking to continue to develop and add to her trophy case. Two weeks ago Force powered her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster into the winner’s circle after defeating Terry McMillen in her second consecutive final round of the season.
“I’ve been chasing this for so many years. It is a very proud moment. I have to thank my team and everyone who helped me get here,“ said Brittany Force. “In Phoenix we almost made it. I was definitely bummed after that, but proud of my team. They have worked so hard to get here. This weekend (Gatornationals) we came out and I was feeling good. Sometimes a driver just feels that way and I had it. I felt it in my stomach, and I was hoping we were going to go all the way, and we did.”
The Gatornationals win came in Force’s eighth final round appearance and it moved her into the Mello Yello Top Fuel point standing lead for the first time in her career. The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster has been the most consistent race car in the category over the first three races. Force’s average elapsed time has been a category best 3.759 seconds on nine runs and her Monster Energy dragster is one of only two dragsters to make full under power runs on every pass on race day. Not surprisingly the other dragster is Steve Torrence who also benefits from Alan Johnson’s oversight.
The addition of Alan Johnson as consultant and Brian Husen as crew chief has given Force even more confidence behind the wheel of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster. On race day she had a starting line reaction time advantage in every round of eliminations. Force also had her two best reaction times of the season in the semi-finals and final round, blistering .055 and .053 on the way to victory.
“I am getting more comfortable in the dragster every run. Brian and Alan changed a lot of things inside the cockpit and I am still get used to some of the changes. I am also doing some special leg workouts to improve my reaction times. My whole team has been great this year and really the win in Gainesville was a true team effort,” added Force.
As the Monster Energy team heads to the DENSO Spark Plug Nationals this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Force is focused on keeping the same attitude. The past two seasons Force started in the top half of the field but failed to advance beyond the first round of eliminations. This season Force has shown improvement in qualifying at every race starting from career best positions in Pomona, Phoenix and Gainesville. With back to back final rounds the lone JFR Top Fuel dragster is happy to just get experience with every run.
“I am excited to get my first win for John Force Racing, Monster Energy and all our sponsors but I don’t want to win just one race. This is a process and I will keep working on getting better every race. It gives you confidence to go rounds and I have dreamed about winning for so many years. Like Robert (Hight) said in the press conference after the Gatornationals getting the first win was the hardest one and now we just have to try and do it again,” said Force.
JOHN FORCE SEES TEAM HEADING TO PEAK IN LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (March 30, 2016) — John Force is a man with a plan. He has been working his game plan for almost two years and last year at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals he saw the beginnings of success with his first victory of 2015 over teammate Robert Hight. Force won again later in the season while Hight also picked up a two more wins. The team momentum was building at the end of the season and it carried over into 2016. Force is currently third in the Funny Car point standings and two of his teams are at the top of their respective classes.
“We had a game plan last year and we worked really hard. It wasn’t the kind of season we had hoped for but everyone at John Force Racing kept working hard. We spent time with engineers from Chevrolet and we told all our sponsors that we would keep promoting and doing media to get them exposure. We had a good test session in Phoenix and now we are three races into the season and we have some wins,” said John Force.
Last year at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Force qualified No. 8 and then took out Chad Head, Matt Hagan, Alexis DeJoria and finally Robert Hight on the way to his 142nd victory. It was the first Chevrolet win for JFR since they came on board again as team manufacturer and it was fitting the win came in an all-white Chevrolet highlighted Camaro SS Funny Car.
“We were excited to get that win for Chevrolet last year but really it was for all our sponsors. We had a lot of them stand by us like Auto Club, Traxxas, and Mac Tools plus we had new sponsors that had come on board like PEAK and Lucas Oil. Now we have Monster Energy on the Top Fuel dragster and PEAK is with me full time this season. There was a lot of change going on and we are still getting better and rebuilding,” added Force.
Last year was Force’s second win at the DENSO Spark Plugs Nationals with his first being recorded in 2010 when he came from the No. 11 qualifying position to race to victory. This season Force is off to another strong start with a semi-final finish in Pomona and a runner-up to veteran Tim Wilkerson in Phoenix. Two weeks ago at the Gatornationals Force missed a prime chance to go to another semi-final but an uncharacteristic red-light in the second round took him out of competition. It was the legendary Force’s 25th red-light in 1,716 rounds of eliminations a staggeringly low number but painful none the less.
“Red-lights are part of drag racing but that doesn’t make you feel any better. I was amped up and I just left too early. (Crew chief) Jon Schaffer and my guys have given me a great race car and we are getting more comfortable. We are rebuilding and this is all part of a process. It won’t happen overnight but I have to thank PEAK for stepping up and also all our other sponsors like Auto Club and Traxxas. We are working together and we will be successful,” summed up Force.
COURTNEY FORCE READY FOR STRONG FINISH AT LAS VEGAS
LAS VEGAS (March 30, 2016) — The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a strong track for Courtney Force. The 17th Annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals this weekend is expected to be one of the best events yet for the Traxxas team after qualifying in the top half of the field at all of the first three races this season, including a No. 2 starting spot at both of the last two events in Phoenix and Gainesville.
“I can’t wait to get out to the Vegas track this weekend. We’ve had a week off since or last race and we’re all ready to get back to our jobs. I feel that our team is really strong at Las Vegas and our car has done well performance wise in the past. The Traxxas team has seen some personal best speeds at this track in particular and going off of the consistency our car has shown this season, this could be a really good weekend for us,” said Force.
Force has qualified No. 4 or better at 75% of the Las Vegas races since her Funny Car debut in 2012, including one No. 1 and three No. 2 starting spots on race day. She has never won at Las Vegas, but has finished runner-up at both the spring and fall events at The Strip.
“We have two runner-ups in Vegas and this could be our weekend to win it. We’ve really got some good data from running here in the past, both at races and testing, which is really going to benefit us this weekend. I think we have as good of a shot as anyone to win this weekend,” said Force.
The 2012 Rookie of the Year had top speed of race day at the season opener in Pomona with a 329.34 mph pass, went to the semi-finals in Phoenix and clocked a career-best 3.893 ET to close out qualifying at the Gatornationals. The Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team is off to one of their best starts and currently holds the No. 5 position in the Funny Car point standings, just four points out of the No. 4 spot and 20 points (one round) out of the No. 3 spot.
“I’m looking forward to pushing our car hard through qualifying. We need to keep collecting those bonus points this weekend to move up a spot in points. We are ready to learn what our Traxxas Chevy Camaro can handle at this track this weekend and I think the night runs you will definitely see some fast race cars and new records,” said Force.